Exposure to room light before bedtime suppresses melatonin onset and shortens melatonin duration in humans
- PMID: 21193540
- PMCID: PMC3047226
- DOI: 10.1210/jc.2010-2098
Exposure to room light before bedtime suppresses melatonin onset and shortens melatonin duration in humans
Abstract
Context: Millions of individuals habitually expose themselves to room light in the hours before bedtime, yet the effects of this behavior on melatonin signaling are not well recognized.
Objective: We tested the hypothesis that exposure to room light in the late evening suppresses the onset of melatonin synthesis and shortens the duration of melatonin production.
Design: In a retrospective analysis, we compared daily melatonin profiles in individuals living in room light (<200 lux) vs. dim light (<3 lux).
Patients: Healthy volunteers (n = 116, 18-30 yr) were recruited from the general population to participate in one of two studies.
Setting: Participants lived in a General Clinical Research Center for at least five consecutive days.
Intervention: Individuals were exposed to room light or dim light in the 8 h preceding bedtime.
Outcome measures: Melatonin duration, onset and offset, suppression, and phase angle of entrainment were determined.
Results: Compared with dim light, exposure to room light before bedtime suppressed melatonin, resulting in a later melatonin onset in 99.0% of individuals and shortening melatonin duration by about 90 min. Also, exposure to room light during the usual hours of sleep suppressed melatonin by greater than 50% in most (85%) trials.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that room light exerts a profound suppressive effect on melatonin levels and shortens the body's internal representation of night duration. Hence, chronically exposing oneself to electrical lighting in the late evening disrupts melatonin signaling and could therefore potentially impact sleep, thermoregulation, blood pressure, and glucose homeostasis.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00200863.
Figures
![Fig. 1.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3047226/bin/zeg0031178940001.gif)
![Fig. 2.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3047226/bin/zeg0031178940002.gif)
![Fig. 3.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3047226/bin/zeg0031178940003.gif)
![Fig. 4.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3047226/bin/zeg0031178940004.gif)
Similar articles
-
The Timing of the Melatonin Onset and Phase Angle to Sleep Onset in Older Adults after Uncontrolled vs. Controlled Lighting Conditions.Clocks Sleep. 2023 Jun 25;5(3):350-357. doi: 10.3390/clockssleep5030026. Clocks Sleep. 2023. PMID: 37489435 Free PMC article.
-
Optimized office lighting advances melatonin phase and peripheral heat loss prior bedtime.Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 11;12(1):4267. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-07522-8. Sci Rep. 2022. PMID: 35277539 Free PMC article.
-
High sensitivity of melatonin suppression response to evening light in preschool-aged children.J Pineal Res. 2022 Mar;72(2):e12780. doi: 10.1111/jpi.12780. Epub 2022 Jan 8. J Pineal Res. 2022. PMID: 34997782 Free PMC article.
-
The influence of bright and dim light on substrate metabolism, energy expenditure and thermoregulation in insulin-resistant individuals depends on time of day.Diabetologia. 2022 Apr;65(4):721-732. doi: 10.1007/s00125-021-05643-9. Epub 2022 Feb 2. Diabetologia. 2022. PMID: 35106618 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Home versus laboratory assessments of melatonin production and melatonin onset in young adults complaining of a delayed sleep schedule.J Sleep Res. 2020 Jun;29(3):e12905. doi: 10.1111/jsr.12905. Epub 2019 Sep 30. J Sleep Res. 2020. PMID: 31569275
Cited by
-
Effectiveness of multi-modal home-based videoconference interventions on sleep in older adults: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Front Public Health. 2024 Apr 15;12:1326412. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1326412. eCollection 2024. Front Public Health. 2024. PMID: 38686035 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Assessing the Feasibility and Efficacy of Pre-Sleep Dim Light Therapy for Adults with Insomnia: A Pilot Study.Medicina (Kaunas). 2024 Apr 14;60(4):632. doi: 10.3390/medicina60040632. Medicina (Kaunas). 2024. PMID: 38674278 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Neuroarchitecture: How the Perception of Our Surroundings Impacts the Brain.Biology (Basel). 2024 Mar 28;13(4):220. doi: 10.3390/biology13040220. Biology (Basel). 2024. PMID: 38666832 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Association between late bedtime and obesity in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis.Front Pediatr. 2024 Mar 15;12:1342514. doi: 10.3389/fped.2024.1342514. eCollection 2024. Front Pediatr. 2024. PMID: 38560399 Free PMC article.
-
One Health: Circadian Medicine Benefits Both Non-human Animals and Humans Alike.J Biol Rhythms. 2024 Jun;39(3):237-269. doi: 10.1177/07487304241228021. Epub 2024 Feb 20. J Biol Rhythms. 2024. PMID: 38379166 Free PMC article. Review.
References
-
- Lewy AJ, Wehr TA, Goodwin FK, Newsome DA, Markey SP. 1980. Light suppresses melatonin secretion in humans. Science 210:1267–1269 - PubMed
-
- Shanahan TL, Czeisler CA. 1991. Light exposure induces equivalent phase shifts of the endogenous circadian rhythms of circulating plasma melatonin and core body temperature in men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 73:227–235 - PubMed
-
- Bittman EL, Karsch FJ, Hopkins JW. 1983. Role of the pineal gland in ovine photoperiodism: regulation of seasonal breeding and negative feedback effects of estradiol upon luteinizing hormone secretion. Endocrinology 113:329–336 - PubMed
-
- Reiter RJ. 1980. The pineal and its hormones in the control of reproduction in mammals. Endocr Rev 1:109–131 - PubMed
-
- Wehr TA, Moul DE, Barbato G, Giesen HA, Seidel JA, Barker C, Bender C. 1993. Conservation of photoperiod-responsive mechanisms in humans. Am J Physiol 265:R846–R857 - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Associated data
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources